Classmates - Do you have to like them?

There are 119 people in the class of 2011, give or take a few graduate students. Sometimes I wonder how some of these people ever made it into medical school, but then again, they may be wondering the same thing about me. Recently, I have discovered how harsh it can be to hear people talk about you behind your back. Not only did I hear a close friend talk about me, but my friends have been telling me about the things that some of my classmates say. It really reminds you of high school. Unfortunately, it has brought to my attention how much I gossip. I realize how hurtful it is, and I am vowing to stop – at least out loud. I plan on using my blog as a place to vent about my classmates and their oddities. I am also going to use it as a place to tell you about all the wonderful people in my class. I guess I need to start writing more about what is going on as far as what I am learning too.

Speaking to people in the class, I realize that there comes a time about two months into the M1 year when everyone is wondering if they made the right decision to come to medical school. As a pre-med, you think you would never have those feelings. You can only dream of getting into school, and then when you get here, it hits you. You realize that you study too much. You don’t have time for an outside life. You feel guilty if you sleep more than 8 hours a night. You feel guilty if you treat yourself to some relaxation time. I feel guilty when I take my nice long showers because I could be studying or catching up on sleep. You resent class because it takes up your study time. If this doesn’t make sense to you, then you aren’t in medical school. This is what you dreamed of, isn’t it?